Down and out in Delhi: suicide rate among jobless people shoots up

Delhi may have the highest monthly per capita income in the country according to a recent government survey, but one unemployed person commits suicide every day in the national capital, Delhi Police statistics reveal.

According to the figures, the number of suicides reported between January 1 and December 31 last year went up to 1,899 from 1,716 in 2011. That was a 10% increase.

"What the figures clearly show is that there were five suicides every day last year with an unemployed person unfailingly being among the daily tally," said a police officer.

Of the total 1899 suicides registered during 2012, the highest number was of those who were unemployed (369). Of them, 320 were men and 49 women.

The unemployed were followed by housewives. As many as 355 of whom chose to end their lives within the confines of their homes. Private sector employees came next (280) and, finally, students (266).

The police said the total tally of suicide cases included more men (1246). A closer look revealed that a majority of the unemployed who took to ending their lives were aged between 15 and 29 years - 177 men and 43 women.

"The problem of suicides can't be linked to migration since Delhi is the capital of the country and migrating here is a natural alternative," said Dr Nimesh Desai, Head of the department of psychiatry and the medical superintendent at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), Delhi.

"No matter where a person belongs to or where he or she has migrated from, there need to be proper avenues provided by the state to ensure that such ailments can be treated for the benefit of patient and his family," he added.